Diaz to Duane: On gay marriage votes, put up or shut up

Sen. Ruben Diaz, Sr., the Senate’s most ardent opponent of gay marriage, has just released the following message to gay marriage bill lead sponsor Tom Duane:

“If Senator Tom Duane has the necessary Senate votes to pass the homosexual marriage bill in New York State, then he should release the names of those Senators who are supporting the bill. If not, he should shut up. If any member of the State Senate is so ashamed to have their names released or to release their own names for this or for any pending legislation, then they clearly feel ashamed of their position.

If any Senators are unwilling to release their names prior to voting for the homosexual marriage bill, they are sending a clear message to the gay community and to the whole State of New York that these Senators are unwilling to let the public know and that they are ashamed to be publicly associated with the gay community.

Any Senator who commits himself or herself to something, should be man or woman enough to take a stand and stand by his or her convictions. If they give their word to support something that they are ashamed of, then that is a hypocrisy, and could be interpreted as not wanting to be associated with the matter.

It is a disgrace that Senator Duane is playing this mind game with his colleagues and with the public. If Senator Duane has the votes, he should release the names. If not, then he should be ashamed of himself. ”

Duane has said he has the votes to pass the bill right now; but that message has not yet been conveyed to Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, who said he’ll put the bill to a vote when he thinks it will pass.

A NY1 survey found that 28 senators have said they will vote against a bill which would allow gay couples to receive marriage licenses. 20 said they would vote yes, 9 are undecided, and 5 could not reveal their position.